6. Deacon Abel Kent

Kent was born on August 7, 1730, in Hingham’s Second Precinct and married Hannah (Hobart), with whom he had seven children. He lived on Border Street and owned land known as “Kent’s Rocks” on the south side of the harbor inlet, where he built a dam for a grist mill. Kent served as the 1776 Cohasset moderator when the community voted to support the Declaration of Independence. In 1780 he became a selectman. Later, he was town treasurer in 1772 and 1773, 1794–1800, and on the Committee of Correspondence in 1775. For many years, he served as First Parish Church’s deacon and its constable in 1762. In 1768, Kent signed the petition to call a meeting to vote to incorporate from Hingham.